It may seem cheap to bring up the departure of Nick Oliveri three years and two albums after he was fired from Queens of the Stone Age, but the more I listen to Era Vulgaris, the more I think his presence is sorely missed. I'm not advocating the guy's return, but the tradeoff between Josh Homme's reserved cool and Olivieri's crazy-go-nuts screaming was one of the group's strengths in their heyday; years later, someone for Homme to play off would still be a welcome addition to the band.
Queens of the Stone Age has been mostly Homme's show ever since, and it's been a mixed bag so far. Lullabies to Paralyze was quality, a chance for QOTSA v2.0 to retrench and carve out their own niche, even if those who were less enamored with the album's glowering charms, saw that niche as a rut-- an example of what Oliveri's loss actually meant to the group. If Era Vulgaris is any indication, the group felt the same way: This album tries its best to be everything all at once (often within one track), and in attempting to cover too much ground, the band loses focus and direction.
It's not so much that the songs themselves are weak, just that many of the choices made in them are. For instance, "Sick, Sick, Sick" would be better off simply sticking with Homme's motor-mouthed singing and riffing; instead, the song bellyflops into a flat chorus where everyone sings like they're scared of their own voices. (Since the Strokes' Julian Casablancas guests on this song, let's blame him. Why not?) Elsewhere, Homme spreads his falsetto all over "Misfit Love", where it'd be more effective in shorter bursts, while the obnoxious bridge on album closer "Run Pig Run" (it pops up twice!) kills any chance it might've had for worthy inclusion on a future edition of Guitar Hero. (Note to Activision: I am totally cool with requisite QOTSA singles "No One Knows" or "3's and 7's" bringing the rock fury and carpal tunnel.)
The most enjoyable moments on Era Vulgaris come when the band treads off the beaten path. One of the album's standout tracks, "Make It Wit Chu", is a straight-forward blues-rock number plucked from the last Desert Sessions disc. And the album's gentler digressions, like the guitar-weeping "Into the Hollow" and the mournful "Suture Up Your Future", reveal Homme has a surprisingly palatable softer side. "Turning on the Screw" and "I'm Designer" aren't exactly groundbreaking departures from the QOTSA's usual fare, but Homme's lyrical bent adds an interesting wrinkle. No one's going to confuse him with Bob Dylan any time this century, but you could put much worse in your mouth than lines like, "My generation's for sale/ Beats a steady job/ How much have you got?" or, "You can't lose it if you never had it/ Disappear man, do some magic." It's at points like these when Era Vulgaris truly comes to life. Unfortunately for listeners, those moments are few and far between, leaving fans to trudge back to older Queens records for the fix they crave.
